


Wet Dog Blues

by Geonn



Series: Underdogs [26]
Category: Original Work
Genre: 1930s, Doggy Style, Extramarital Affairs, F/F, Hair-pulling, Power Dynamics, Prohibition, Seattle, Strap-Ons, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-16
Updated: 2014-10-16
Packaged: 2018-02-21 08:41:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2461946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geonn/pseuds/Geonn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lily Kimbrough has a truckload of Canadian hooch to get to Prohibition-era Seattle, but that's not the real reason she's aching to get home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wet Dog Blues

**Author's Note:**

> I've written extensively about modern-day canidae (Ari and the British pack in Barking Mad), and I've written about long-ago wolves with Agatha Westreich, and I've always wanted to write stories about other historical canidae. This is the first in hopefully several stories about other wolves through the ages. It proves that Ari wasn't the first wolf to fall for a human, and other stories may show that not all humans are as understanding as Dale when they see their partner shifting. For now, enjoy a Prohibition-era wolf!
> 
> Lily's method of smuggling may seem completely bonkers, but it apparently really happened. People were serious about their hooch!

Every bump in the dirt road shifted the bottles in the bed Lily Kimbrough’s truck. The glass sides clinked together in an almost musical symphony that had followed her all the way from Chilliwack. A hundred and fifty gallon jugs, all of it sloshing around and making a ruckus. Most of the police, the ones who weren’t being paid to look the other way, kept their eyes on the water and on trains. Lily, born in Canada and proud owner of dual citizenship, was able to get back and forth across the border without much hassle. 

The road ahead lifted in a gentle incline and Lily listened to her cargo shift one way, then the other, too experienced to be overly concerned about their welfare. On her first few runs she had been a jumble of nerves. Worried about getting caught. Worried about breaking some of the bottles and having Roy take it out of her fee. Worried about everything, in fact. But now she knew better. She could make this run in her sleep, and considering the hour, that would be a very handy trick.

It was nearly four in the morning, a time when most people were in their deepest sleep cycle. Lily always took long naps the day before she had to head up north, but grogginess always pulled at her around this time of night. She pushed her hat lower onto her brow so the wind wouldn’t catch it, then rolled down her window to hook her elbow on the door. The cool air blowing down off the Cascades would keep her awake, she hoped.

The trip up to Canada took three hours, give or take, so she left Seattle in mid-morning. The afternoon and evening were spent loading up the goods, and then she set out on back roads and forgotten tracks to cross back over the border without being spotted. Her precautions usually doubled the time of her return trip, but it put her smack-dab in the middle of the night. She could almost smell dawn creeping up on her, but the mountains would keep her in shadows long enough to get home.

Thoughts of home led her to thinking about who was waiting there. They couldn’t afford to keep pictures of each other, so they found other mementos. She reached out and touched the string of feathers hanging from a leather strap that dangled from her mirror. If anyone asked, it was just “an Indian thing,” something her grandmother passed down to her. In truth the feathers were from a pillow she’d taken from the bed where she spent her first night with Cora. She wanted a memento, but everything she asked for - a necklace, a drawing, a glove - was vetoed as too identifiable. 

“But that’s the whole point,” Lily said. “I want to know it’s yours.”

“But no one else can know it’s mine, or why you have it. You understand that. Don’t you, Lily?” She had gathered Lily’s hair around her hand, then pulled her down. It was rough, and it hurt her head, but damned if she didn’t kind of like it when Cora pulled her around by her hair. They kissed, which led into a second bout, during which Lily had accidentally ripped a seam on the pillow. White feathers of every size and description wafted up in the air, and when they were done laughing, Cora had plucked one from Lily’s hair.

“Here you go. This can be your keepsake.”

She’d taken the largest feathers from the bunch, dyed them green, pink, and red - the color of Cora’s eyes, skin, and hair - and tied them together with a strip of leather. She let her fingers drop from the reminder and gripped the wheel with both hands. She wanted to get home well before dawn, not just for protection from the law, but because getting home while it was still dark out meant that she could drop by and see Cora for a bit. She smiled at the thought and pressed her foot down a little harder on the gas pedal, the bottles behind her clinking like a bunch of partygoers toasting her idea.

She was on the outskirts of Seattle when a sleek Lincoln pulled up behind her. It pulled to one side so she could see the markings identifying it as a police car, and she cursed quietly as the driver lifted one arm out the window and waved for her to pull over. She sighed and did as she was told, the gravel on the side of the road crunching under her tires. The bottles behind her shifted and clattered together. She’d gone out of her way to approach Seattle as much from the east as she could, but it really wasn’t possible to enter Seattle from any direction other than north. She rested her fist against her cheek as the man slowly disengaged from his car and strolled up to her window.

“Morning,” she said. “How are you, fine sir?”

“Surprised to find someone out and about this early,” he said. “Where you off to?”

She shrugged. “Just making some deliveries.”

“Uh huh.” He moved to the bed and flipped up the blankets. “Uh-oh. What do we have here?”

“Soda pop.”

He laughed and nodded. “Is that so. Well, I’m just a hundred percent sure that’s what this is, all right. Got yourself a bunch of Dr Pepper back here?”

“Actually, sir, that’s exactly what it is. Want to have a taste? My boss is always willing to provide refreshment for the fine folks of local law enforcement.”

The officer pushed back the blanket and inspected the rest of the truck bed. Three hundred and fifty gallon jugs, all full of brown liquid, all of it packed in tight with cartons of eggs. The officer chuckled and knocked on one of the bottles.

“Lot of soda pop here.”

“Lot of thirsty people in Seattle, sir.”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh. What are the eggs for?”

She stared at him. “Breakfast.”

“Lot of eggs.”

“Thirsty people are hungry people. Sir, I’m sorry, but I have got to go...”

“You’re not going anywhere with this hooch.”

Lily said, “If you ain’t gonna taste it, at least smell it. Go on, pick any bottle you want.”

He sighed, then stretched out to pick a random bottle from the middle of the pack. He uncorked it, took a big whiff, and then frowned. His expression changed from haughty derision to one of confusion as he sniffed again, then took a sip straight from the bottle. 

“What in the world...” He put the bottle down, then picked up another one. He uncorked, sniffed, sipped, and looked at her. “This is Dr Pepper!”

“That’s precisely what I told you, officer.”

He looked at the truck as if convinced she had somehow pulled one over on him. He looked at her, then corked the bottle and put it back with the others. He walked back to her window and stared hard at her for a long time before he spoke.

“Lot of eggs back there, too.”

She rolled her eyes. “Geez Louise! Want me to crack one on the engine, scramble you up a little breakfast? Look, I gotta make this delivery. Am I in trouble or not?”

He worked his jaw around, pushing his lips out and swaying a little on his feet. Finally he said, “Fine. You can go. But we’ll be watching for you on this road.”

“Always nice to have my own personal bodyguard.” She saluted him and watched as he walked back to his car. She waited until he was behind the wheel before she pulled away from the shoulder and drove on. He turned off a few blocks later, and Lily stopped driving aimlessly and got back on her route. Stupid cop had cost her precious minutes, and she’d have to waste time explaining to Roy why she was late and why two of the bottles had been opened. But hell, as long as the supply wasn’t affected he shouldn’t mind too much.

It was the time she’d lose from being with Cora... that was what made her mad.

She pulled up behind the Tarantula Club twenty minutes behind schedule, Roy’s boys coming out and moving around her truck as she climbed out. Roy himself appeared, lighting a cigar as he approached her. She wrinkled her nose but didn’t say anything.

“You’re late.”

“I got stopped by the fuzz. He sampled two of the bottles.”

Roy flipped back the blanket and examined the contents of her truck. “Which ones?” Lily pointed them out, identifying them by the sloppy placement of the corks. Roy picked them up and handed them to one of his men. “Dump these out somewhere. Don’t want some copper spit getting in the customer’s glasses.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Those bottles still count toward the total,” Lily reminded him.

Roy nodded and began counting. The back of her truck had two levels, both of them lined up from cab to tailgate with bottles of dark brown liquid. Roy counted them up, then across, then added in the stragglers. “Three hundred and fifty.”

“That’s what I picked up.”

Roy took out one carton of eggs and opened it. The eggs looked perfectly normal, but he picked one out and rubbed his finger over the oddly tough shell. Her contact in Canada fashioned the eggs out of wood, making them slightly larger than real eggs, and filled them with the product. Four eggs equaled a cup, six dozen eggs made a gallon. The back of her truck had sixty cartons of eggs, ten gallons of product, with three-hundred and forty more waiting across the border. The gallons of pop were also for the club, but they were really only there to indicate how much moonshine, ale, and whisky was on hand. Plus any cop who found a truck full of jugs wasn’t going to look much harder for the real stuff. Roy thumbed open the top of the egg and brought it up, drank down the small amount that was inside, and smiled.

“You always come through, Kimbrough.”

“I do what I can.”

Roy nodded to one of his men, who took out a leather billfold. He handed it over and Lily slipped it into her back pocket. Roy knew she would count it later, only an idiot wouldn’t, but it was considered bad form to count in front of the buyer. 

“I’ll bring the rest down on Friday morning.”

“And I’ll pay you the bulk of your fee then. A pleasure doing business with you, Kimbrough.” He stuck out his hand. Lily wasn’t keen on taking it, but she did so for appearance sake. As she did he tightened his grip and pulled her close. “Sure you don’t want to stick around? A couple of the broads who came in last night accepted a few too many free drinks, and we’re going to have a little locked-door fun before we send them home.”

Lily’s skin crawled at the idea, hated that one of the few people who knew her preferences thought it meant she would be up for that sort of thing. 

“Pretty tired from the ride,” she said. “Thanks for the invite, though.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You sure?”

“Positive.” She let go of his hand. “Maybe next time, though.”

He shrugged and let go of her hand. She curled her fingers into a fist, fighting the urge to wipe it off on her slacks. Roy was a rapist and a monster, but he was also her only source of income. There were plenty of speakeasies around Seattle, but they all had their own suppliers. If she tipped off the cops to what Roy was doing they would shut him down and she’d be out in the cold. No matter how sick it made her to know she was providing the means for him to get those poor women drunk, she couldn’t cut herself off at the knees as well. One day, though, she was going to see that he paid for what he’d done. 

“I’ll let your guys unpack the truck and come back for it later. I’ve been sitting down since yesterday. It’ll be good to stretch my legs.”

Roy nodded distractedly and watched as his men carried the egg cartons inside. As far as he was concerned Lily was already gone. She stuck her hands in her back pockets and started walking. She ran her thumb over the leather of the billfold as she walked, the money within already earmarked for her escape. One step closer to freedom. She would leave Seattle in her dust, and on her way out of town she would alert the coppers to descend on the Tarantula Club like a colony of wasps. 

She could only hope her soul wasn’t too tarnished to be saved. She’d been selling it with her silence for far too long. She cast one more sidelong glance at the club, said a quiet prayer for the women she was abandoning within, and hurried away from the pit.

#

Cora Crane could sing. It wasn’t as simple a statement as it seemed. Lily stressed the last word, giving it strength and power. Cora Crane wasn’t some pool hall crooner, she was a diva who deserved the grandest of stages. Lily had been drunk the first time she saw Cora sing and the first note struck her sober. She sat up at the bar and turned on her stool to watch the redhead sing as if trying to prove to her brain that the voice really was coming from that tiny woman in the tight green dress. The song took Lily’s breath away, and she remembered draining the cup until the ice bumped against her teeth. 

After she left the stage to a piddling amount of applause, Lily hurried across the club so as not to miss her opportunity. No one else seemed to appreciate what had just happened, too caught up in their drinks and their gambling to even notice they were in the presence of something miraculous. She went backstage and caught up to the redheaded singer, touching her arm just before she disappeared into her dressing room.

“Excuse me.”

Cora turned, took a step back, and ran her eyes over Lily’s body. Lily was suddenly very aware of her slacks, the threadbare shirt, her self-cut hair... She shrunk back a step and hoped the shadows would swallow some of her shortcomings.

“Well... hello. And who are you?”

“Lily. I just... I was out there... and I heard you sing...” She shook her head, wide-eyed and well aware of how manic she sounded. “I just wanted to say you have the most amazing voice I’ve ever heard.”

“You’re drunk,” Cora said sweetly as she started to turn away.

“No.” She put her hand on Cora’s arm. “No, everyone else out there, they’re drunk. I’m the only one who was listening.”

Cora stopped and looked at her again. “You look like a young man.”

“I... well, I ain’t...”

“No. No, you aren’t.” She stepped into her dressing room and held the door open a fraction wider. “Would you like to come in? We could get to know one another.”

Lily raised her eyebrows. “I’d like that a lot. Thank you.”

They talked for close to an hour that first night, long enough for Cora to confirm that Lily was being honest about appreciating Cora’s voice. They parted as friends with a promise to meet up at a more reputable location that weekend, and Lily spent the next few days alternating between excitement and sheer abject horror at the prospect. When they finally did meet up, it was at Cora’s home. Her husband was out and would be gone for most of the night.

“I’m glad you’re here to watch over me,” Cora said as she poured Lily a drink. “I would’ve been afraid staying here all alone.”

“Huh. Usually you’re teasing when you say stuff like that. But I think you meant it.”

Cora tried to brush it off, but it was obvious something was gnawing at her. Lily took her drink and let the subject drop, following Cora into the study to drink by the fire. They talked about where they were born, how they’d ended up in Seattle, covering all sorts of topics as they drained the bottle Cora had brought in from the kitchen. Lily went to get a second one and, when she came back, she found her hostess staring into the flames. She looked so sad, wrapped in shadows except for her gilded features. Her ruby lips were parted ever so slightly, and a curl of hair obscured her eyes but Lily could see the thin track of a tear on her perfect cheek.

She knelt next to Cora, who startled at her arrival. “Oh. I didn’t hear you come back...”

Lily leaned in and kissed the wet trail, then moved her lips to the corner of Cora’s mouth. She lingered there for just a moment, then tilted her head to the side and hovered above Cora’s lips.

“There’s something I want to tell you,” Lily whispered.

“It can wait.”

“No, it can’t.” Her hand slipped into the folds of Cora’s robe and touched her bare stomach. She swallowed and moved her hand lower. Cora arched up into the touch, her wide eyes reflecting the fire as Lily’s fingers teased her hair. “I’m a werewolf.”

Cora gasped and slid her hand up Lily’s arm, from wrist to elbow. Her breath shook when she spoke again. “What?”

Lily touched her tongue to Cora’s lips and felt them part for her, but she didn’t complete the kiss. She shifted her weight and straddled Cora. Their breath mingled between them, smelling of alcohol, and Lily brought her hands up to push the flimsy robe off her friend’s shoulders. She was wearing unmentionables beneath and Lily slipped her hands down into Cora’s cleavage. She looked down to watch her fingers follow the curves.

“I’m a wolf.”

Cora put her hand on Lily’s neck and leaned back, pulling Cora down with her. “Come here, wolf. Show me what big teeth you have...”

At first, even with the heavy emotion of the moment, it seemed like play. Even after Lily’s clothes came off and they were intertwined on the carpet, the feeling only became truly serious after Cora whispered, “Come to my bed,” into Lily’s ear. They were forced to separate, and Lily followed Cora down the long dark corridor to the bedroom. The act of moving gave them time enough to reconsider and put a stop to what was happening. Cora stopped at the bedroom door and turned to see if Lily was still behind her.

Lily pressed against Cora and kissed her properly. She closed her lips around Cora’s tongue, remembering how her voice had brought them together, and she put her hand on Cora’s chest to push her into the bedroom.

“I want to feel your mouth all over me,” Lily whispered. “I want to feel it everywhere.”

Cora smiled. “Then get on the bed, darling.”

It wasn’t until the next morning, well after the pillow had been destroyed, that Cora brought up the dreaded secret Lily had revealed to her.

“What did you mean when you said you were a wolf?”

Lily was sitting up on the edge of the bed, naked with her shoulders hunched. Her hair was falling in her face so she pushed it back and looked over her shoulder.

“I can change into a wolf. All the women in my family can. Some of the men, too.”

Cora rolled onto her stomach. “Show me.”

“Don’t be frightened.”

Cora nodded, and Lily stepped off the bed. She dropped to one knee, steepled her fingers on the floor, and arched her back. The change rippled through her arms and legs, meeting in her center mass before exploding back outward. Her body erupted in shiny black fur as her bones snapped and reformed in a slightly different configuration. She shook her head as her face fractured and pushed outward, her ears extending into long points. 

When the transformation was complete she sat on her haunches. Cora was sitting up, one hand on her chest and her eyes wide with shock and joy. She ran her eyes over the new shape of Lily’s body and laughed before crawling forward, cupping the animal’s face and pressing a kiss onto her muzzle.

“And you called me miraculous.”

That was four years ago. Since then Lily had made the runs for Roy and come home to Cora. She never knew what version of Cora she would find when she came in the back door. She would knock, Cora would answer, and Lily would take cues from her on how to act. Sometimes Cora wanted to be in charge, and she would haul Lily inside and begin tearing off her clothes. Those nights Lily called her “ma’am” and occasionally “mama.” Other times they would kiss in the doorway and Cora would whisper for Lily to “be her wolf.”

This night, after her long trek from the club, she rattled her fingernails against the door and waited for Cora’s response. She heard the lock click and the door swung open just a crack to reveal Cora’s eye. 

“Please... whoever you are... don’t hurt me...”

“Let me in,” Lily said. “Or I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down.”

Cora yelped in fear and tried to push the door shut, but Lily stuck her foot in the way. The door banged against it and Lily yelped as if in echo.

“Oh, God!”

“Jiminy, that hurts!”

Cora opened the door. “Are you okay?”

Lily growled and pounced, prompting another frightened shriek from Cora. They grappled briefly before their lips collided in a kiss. Lily curled her fingers in the material of Cora’s blouse and pulled away from the kiss to look into Cora’s eyes. Cora nodded and Lily yanked, tearing off the buttons and bending down to bury her face between Cora’s breasts. Cora arched her back, squirming with no real intent to escape.

“You animal. You monster!”

Lily growled and shoved Cora’s pants down. Cora twisted and stumbled off, but Lily wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled her down. Lily crawled up Cora’s body, pressing her face against the crotch of Cora’s underwear. Cora was wet for her, had probably waited all day to see her, and Lily’s face flushed at the thought of her lover sitting at home pining. She stuck out her tongue and dragged it along the wet material, and Cora cried out in pleasure.

“You stopped fighting,” Lily said when she kissed the small of Cora’s back.

“My big bad wolf,” Cora purred.

Lily smiled and flipped Cora over. She pulled off the remaining pieces of Cora’s clothes, cupped her breasts, and then growled as she moved her hand between her legs. She rubbed her fingers against Cora’s sex, and Cora’s eyes rolled back in her head. She flattened her palms on the floor, her feet pointed so that only her toes were touching the ground, her body bowed against the fingers Lily had just pushed into her.

“Sing for me,” Lily whispered.

Cora laughed and shook her head, then began to sing an old torch song. Lily snarled and snapped, part of her wolf coming out.

“No... _sing_.”

Cora moaned, her lips forming a perfect O, and she began to sing something she only performed for Lily. It was a song of pleasure, release, and perfect happiness. When the song hit its crescendo, Cora’s voice cracked and she moved one hand between her legs to hold onto Lily’s hand. Lily smiled, her face pink as she watched Cora writhe and grind against her hand, both of them sweaty but only Cora naked. Lily’s clothes were wrinkled and ruffled but she was still mostly presentable when Cora motioned for her to bend down for a kiss.

“I want to take your clothes off,” Cora whispered between kisses.

“Yes, ma’am,” Lily said.

“I want to strip you.”

“Mmm, yes, ma’am.”

Cora pressed her lips against Lily’s ear, “I want to fuck you, my wolf,” and then she bit down on Lily’s earlobe. Lily growled and shoved herself up, hauling Cora with her. Cora laughed as she got her feet under her, running to the bedroom while Lily gave chase. Cora leapt onto the bed, grabbing for something under the pillow, reaching it as Lily pounced on top of her. 

“What do you have there? A weapon to hurt your big bad wolf?”

Cora rolled over and held it up, and Lily’s eyes widened. It was long and brown, slender at the tip but widening at the base. There was a complicated harness attached to it, and Lily’s fingers shook as she dragged them down the length of it.

“I thought stakes were for vampires.”

Cora was breathing hard, cheeks pink, obviously eager to know what Lily thought about her surprise. “I told you I wanted to fuck you, my wolf.”

Lily said, “What do I do?”

“Put it on me. Then take off your fucking clothes.”

Lily laughed as she eagerly climbed off the bed. They made it a ritual, the slow donning of the cock. Lily took her time easing it up onto Cora’s hips, then wrapped her lips around it to make sure the material was lubricated. She kissed the tip and looked up at her lover.

“What is this material?”

“Leather, I-I think.”

“Mm.” She kissed the side of the shaft and stood up, taking off her clothes as Cora reclined and idly ran her fingers up and down the length of her new appendage. Once Lily was naked, Cora sat up and motioned for Lily to get on the bed. 

“Hands and knees...”

“Yes, ma’am,” Lily said.

Cora knelt behind her, breathing heavily as she awkwardly tried to figure the angles. She bit her bottom lip and accidentally put her leg down on Lily’s calf.

“Oof. Sorry...”

“S’okay. Fuck me.”

Cora made a quiet keening noise in her throat as she eased the tip of her cock against Lily’s sex. Their sighs almost echoed each other as Cora put one hand on Lily’s hip to hold her steady. She held her position for a moment and then pulled out, pushed back in, and repeated the move just to be sure she would stay inside. Lily pressed back against her and crossed her hands in front of her as Cora found her rhythm.

“Pull my hair, please,” Lily murmured, biting her lip as Cora reached up and grabbed a handful of Lily’s thick dark hair. She pulled and Lily thrust her chin out, baring her teeth as she pushed back against Cora’s thrusts. “Yeah, yes... God...”

“Howl for mama, my sweet wolf,” Cora gasped. “Howl for me while I fuck you.”

Lily moaned, tilted her head back, and pursed her lips. Her moan became a keen howl, rising and falling with her breath. She added yips and vocalizations to her howling, squeezing her eyes shut when Cora pulled harder on her hair, rocking her hips side to side and then back to sink deeper onto Cora’s new toy. 

“Come for me, Lily Kimbrough,” Cora breathed, her voice melodic as a song. Lily grinned and laughed throatily, enjoying the one song Cora only sang for her. She howled again, her voice echoing through the early morning as she came.

#

Roy finished loading up that night’s supply and watched as the first dozen eggs were snapped open and transferred to bottles. The sun was starting to come up and he wanted to get home and get some sleep. He left the club in the capable hands of his lieutenants and drove home. One of his neighbors was out watering the lawn, and they spoke briefly before Roy continued on. When he came into the house he thought he smelled something peculiar on the air, but his wife was always spraying this and that around. No matter how many times he tried to tell her not to, she was always trying to floral the place up. He sighed and pushed the door shut, hung his hat on the peg, and tromped upstairs. 

“Cora! Where you at, woman?” He threw open the bedroom door and saw Cora lying on her side in bed. She was wearing one of her least flattering nightgowns, her hair a tangled mess, and he shook his head with a sigh. “If the customers only knew what a wreck you looked like first thing in the morning. I swear, if I didn’t have to pay for your upkeep in hair and makeup, I might actually make a profit.”

“Oh, you do just fine,” Cora said, sounding distracted. 

Roy stared at her. She was reading a book, her feet crossed at the ankles under the blanket. Usually a rebuke like that would have elicited at least a perfunctory apology. He didn’t expect her to jump up and put her face on that instant, they’d been married too long for that, but at least a little shame at the fact she looked... she looked ill. Her skin was clammy and pale. 

“You all right?”

“Tossing and turning all night. But I’m well, thank you.”

“Hmph.” He sat on the edge of the bed and bent down to untie his shoes. When he sat up again he saw a large black dog emerging from the closet. “Aw, hell. Looks like your dog found her way back.”

Cora finally looked up from her book. “Oh. Yes. It would seem she did.”

“Thought she was gone for good that time.” It had been a while since he’d seen the bitch, but it seemed to have good enough sense to stay out of his way. He didn’t know where it had even come from in the first place. It showed up in their backyard one day about four years earlier and Cora had been dumb enough to feed it. Then winter came and she took pity, brought it into the house, and now there was no getting rid of the thing. Still, he supposed it was good to have someone watching over the place when he couldn’t be there.

Roy stood up and crouched in front of the dog. “What did you name this thing again?”

“Tala.”

“Right. Tala.” He put his hands on either side of the dog’s head, pushing it up so he could look into her eyes. He squinted. Sometimes there was something about this thing... it was almost like it could understand them. Ridiculous, but sometimes when he was drunk or overtired it seemed like it was true. And he knew dogs were stupid animals, but this one seemed to understand when he was trying to get Cora to stay in line. If he raised his voice, if he said something belittling in the slightest way, the dog would stand up and start growling low in his throat. Of course having the dog around seemed to calm Cora down some. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had to correct her with a sharp slap or by grabbing her arm. So he supposed the mutt had its purposes.

He stood up and stretched, too tired to keep thinking about the damned dog. “I’m going to go take a shower.”

Cora said, “Okay.” 

He went to the bathroom door and turned to see Cora looking at the dog with a secret smile playing on her lips. He looked at the dog and saw it was meeting her gaze. Bizarre. Very bizarre. But still, he had enemies. If he was going to have someone watching over his wife, he would trust the dog more than he trusted any of his lieutenants. 

“Oh. Bill next door said he heard that thing howling this morning. Might want to muzzle it or something.”

Cora got a very strange smile on her face, one he couldn’t quite name, and she nodded. “Muzzle. Hm, there’s an idea. What do you think, wolfie girl?”

The dog huffed.

Roy rolled his eyes. “That’s good, Cora. You and the dog have a nice long talk with each other.”

He shut the door on his wife’s laughter and wondered just what in the damned hell was so funny.


End file.
